Tenants from one of the unit volunteered to lay fake grass in the backyard (500 sqft+) as long we cover all the materials. 

I like to suggest that if one has a certain guru they kind of like.. simply go on E bay and that guru's written materials and CDs will be for sale usually for 50 to 150 bucks.. so for maybe 500 to 1k you can get a huge amount of information.. then figure out what U like.. there is no super secrets in real estate most of it is pretty straight forward.. 

AND if you prefer acoustic drop ceiling, do you have any cost effective material recommendation that would make the room look nice?

I have come up with a list of skills that I feel would be a great help to the renovation process:3D Modeling/Building Measurements-With a 3D model you can get accurate floor plans, elevations and 3D views of the buildingTest Fit Layouts-Once the 3D model is built, multiple layouts can be created and analyzed-Potential problems can be solved before they are builtMaterial Calculation/Cost-When the design is finalized, square footages and materials can be calculated based off of the modelVisualization Renderings-You get imagery of the building/spaces before construction moves forward-There is a reference during construction Construction Documentation-Specific details can be drawn and dimensioned Staging-A house with furniture better shows the potential of the space Architectural Photography-People want nice pictures that actually show the space and they want a lot of themI would appreciate your feedback on this. 

The term "investment" is defined as the action or process of investing money for profit or material result.

Labor and materials are treated the same way - i.e. mostly reserved for future depreciation.

Do not rely on broker's material.

Short of tearing down the downstairs ceilings and installing soundproofing materials, there's nothing I can do.

@Clara Brashear,Hi Clara,I assume you mean how to be your own General Contractor hiring/managing/paying subs on your own work site and not swinging a hammer yourself.Going to work for some one else in this field would probably take several years to figure out all that needs to be done.For instance, material and labor lien releases, payment schedules that CYA, interim and final work inspections, etc... 

I purchase, he fixes it up at discounted rates and no mark up on materials, and we split the profits.